This one's simple, list some great runs of five by directors and actors. The only rule is they have to be in actual order of release.Director:Akira KurosawaSeven SamuraiI Live in FearThrone Of BloodThe Lower DepthsThe Hidden FortressWhile I consider The Lower Depths as the weakest of the five, it's not a bad film at all. However, what a roll that man was on! Three of my top 20 in roughly four years?

Actor: (ruling is it must be starring or co-starring, cameos don't count)Tom HanksPhiladelphiaForrest GumpApollo 13Toy StoryThat Thing You DoOh yeah, it was only a voice job, but Woody would have been nothing in someone else's voice. Three best actor noms, winning two of them, and he became the highest paid guy in the business doing so, as well as one of the most respected. Nice run, there Hildy (or was he Buffy?).

Actress:Katherine HepburnStage DoorBringing Up BabyHolidayThe Philadelphia StoryWoman of the YearOK Stage Door's mostly an ensemble, but she's the one getting the good lines, etc. Then she nailed three in a row with Cary Grant, (charming the world in the process) and then ignited the Hepburn/Tracy legend to top it all off.

Who do y'all think had good runs as well?

"I ain't a boy, no I'm a man, and I believe in the Promised Land"-Coming to the USA on January 20, 2009!

John CarpenterDark StarAssault On Precinct 12Halloween The FogEscape From New York

Next Five From John CarpenterThe ThingChristineStarmanBig Trouble in Little ChinaPrince of Darkness and one more for good measure, They Live.

I know Christine gets some grief from a lot of people, Carpenter himself, but I think it works really, really well and man really, that is a run. Plus if you wanted to count TV movies you could also throw Elvis in there.

"The most dementing of all modern sins: the inability to distinquish excellence from success."-David Hare

Okay, not as strong as some of the others. But I thought they should be mentioned.

Hudsucker Proxy is the weak link on the list, and it's a solid effort as far as I'm concerned. Considering you could just as easily go Blood Simple to Hudsucker, I'd say the Coens are at least as strong as most of the directors we've listed.

HGervais wrote:I know Christine gets some grief from a lot of people, Carpenter himself, but I think it works really, really well and man really, that is a run.

Amen, HGervais.

Director: Steven SpielbergJaws (1975)Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)1941 (1979)Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Yeah, yeah, I know 1941 is horrible, but I’m a bigger fan of Spielberg’s early work. Besides, it’s hard to pick 5 Spielberg movies in a row that don’t have a 1941, Empire of the Sun, Hook, Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, or The Terminal weakening the list. If anyone can do better, be my guest.

HGervais wrote:I know Christine gets some grief from a lot of people, Carpenter himself, but I think it works really, really well and man really, that is a run.

Amen, HGervais.

Director: Steven SpielbergJaws (1975)Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)1941 (1979)Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Yeah, yeah, I know 1941 is horrible, but I’m a bigger fan of Spielberg’s early work. Besides, it’s hard to pick 5 Spielberg movies in a row that don’t have a 1941, Empire of the Sun, Hook, Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, or The Terminal weakening the list. If anyone can do better, be my guest.

Take Empire of the Sun out of there and substitute Always. Take out The Terminal while yer at it. Both better films than they're given credit for.

I's also argue 1941. Yes the movie is big, loud & noisy but it is also funny. And as I have stated for like the 50th time any movie that puts Christopher Lee, Slim Pickens & Toshiro Mifune in the same scene, let alone the same shot, is a-ok by me.

Steve T Power wrote:

Mach6 wrote:

HGervais wrote:I know Christine gets some grief from a lot of people, Carpenter himself, but I think it works really, really well and man really, that is a run.

Amen, HGervais.

Director: Steven SpielbergJaws (1975)Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)1941 (1979)Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Yeah, yeah, I know 1941 is horrible, but I’m a bigger fan of Spielberg’s early work. Besides, it’s hard to pick 5 Spielberg movies in a row that don’t have a 1941, Empire of the Sun, Hook, Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, or The Terminal weakening the list. If anyone can do better, be my guest.

Take Empire of the Sun out of there and substitute Always. Take out The Terminal while yer at it. Both better films than they're given credit for.

"The most dementing of all modern sins: the inability to distinquish excellence from success."-David Hare

Border IncidentSide StreetWinchester '73The FuriesDevil's Doorwayand then jump to Bend of the RiverThe Naked SpurThunder BayThe Glenn Miller StoryThe Far Countryand throw in The Man From Laramie, The Tin Star, Man of the West & El Cid for good measure.

"The most dementing of all modern sins: the inability to distinquish excellence from success."-David Hare

Okay, not as strong as some of the others. But I thought they should be mentioned.

Hudsucker Proxy is the weak link on the list, and it's a solid effort as far as I'm concerned. Considering you could just as easily go Blood Simple to Hudsucker, I'd say the Coens are at least as strong as most of the directors we've listed.

I haven't see Blood Simple (though now I want to), so I wasn't sure how it would fit.

I'm just a horse, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love me. - Andrew Forbes

Miami Vice is a thrilling exercise in style. I don't know why people beat up on that movie.

Correct. Vice Rules. People beat up on it because it refuses to cash in on '80s nostalgia and go the kitsch route. It plays it straight. Other people hate it because it's slower and more methodical than typical action fare, and doesn't feel a need to beat up the audience with explosions every five minutes just to keep their attention. Mann understands how to build tension, then release it with tight, brutal, effective bursts of violence. Also, the last five minutes, with Farrell watching Gong Li leave on the boat juxtaposed with Naomi Harris waking up from her coma in the hospital, all set to Mogwai's "Auto Rock," is pure filmmaking bliss.

It's got problems (Mann has never been a great dialogue guy), but it's better - and better made - than 90 percent of the Hollywood actioners hitting theaters these days.

Miami Vice is a thrilling exercise in style. I don't know why people beat up on that movie.

Correct. Vice Rules. People beat up on it because it refuses to cash in on '80s nostalgia and go the kitsch route. It plays it straight. Other people hate it because it's slower and more methodical than typical action fare, and doesn't feel a need to beat up the audience with explosions every five minutes just to keep their attention. Mann understands how to build tension, then release it with tight, brutal, effective bursts of violence. Also, the last five minutes, with Farrell watching Gong Li leave on the boat juxtaposed with Naomi Harris waking up from her coma in the hospital, all set to Mogwai's "Auto Rock," is pure filmmaking bliss.

It's got problems (Mann has never been a great dialogue guy), but it's better - and better made - than 90 percent of the Hollywood actioners hitting theaters these days.

I stand corrected. I should know better than to a) make any kind of judgement on a film without having actually seen it and b) go on the word of the masses. Please accept my abject apologies.

I'm just a horse, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love me. - Andrew Forbes

JoshRode wrote:I stand corrected. I should know better than to a) make any kind of judgement on a film without having actually seen it and b) go on the word of the masses. Please accept my abject apologies.

Hey, if you've seen it, your opinion is as valid as anyone's. If you haven't, and you dig Mann, remedy this at your earliest convenience.